


The Fallen

by LadyLoki710



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Companion Piece, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Not Canon Compliant, Short One Shot, Surprise Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-05 20:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15870741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLoki710/pseuds/LadyLoki710
Summary: A twist on what happens when Elizabeth finds James after he is thrown out of the tavern in Tortuga.





	1. Chapter 1

Soft footsteps are approaching on the nearby cobblestone path, but James Norrington resolutely ignores them, though this requires leaving his face half-submerged in the mud and God only knows what other filth he has landed in. There is not a single soul on this earth the former commodore would welcome seeing in this disgraced state. James grits his teeth against the throbbing that threatens to cave in the back of his skull; the rum-induced headache he's suffered for days has been exacerbated by the sharp - but admittedly not undeserved - blow from a rum bottle.

The footsteps pause by the pigsty currently serving as James' bed. _Bloody hell, leave me alone or I'll wring your neck,_ James thinks bitterly. He remains still, feigning a drunken stupor. The last numbing effects of cheap rum had dissipated the instant the glass bottle shattered on his head, leaving him to face his wretched reality while painfully sober. The unwelcome visitor lingers despite James' best mental efforts to compel him or her to move along.

"James Norrington... what has this world done to you?"

The familiar voice startles him into hoisting himself up on one elbow to gaze at Elizabeth Swann - or it is Turner now? - with half-lidded eyes. Elizabeth is wearing men's clothing that hangs loosely on her slender frame, and her hair is bound into a tight plait, but her face is still as lovely as he remembered, concern in her hazel eyes. Elizabeth's pitying expression makes a rush of resentment and humiliation rise in his gut like heartburn. If there is anyone from whom he wished to hide his fall from grace, it is his former fiancee... the only woman stoic James Norrington has ever loved.

"And I thought Turner would have molded you into a proper little housewife by now."

James regrets the hateful words as soon as they come out of his mouth. A brief flicker of hurt crosses Elizabeth's face before she crosses her arms over her chest, meeting his stare cooly. "I suppose you're not going to accept an offer to help you out of that muck."

"You suppose correctly." James hauls himself to his feet awkwardly, swaying slightly as spots swim through his vision. "You are free to go back to your pirate friends and leave me in peace."

"Oh, James," Elizabeth sighs almost fondly. It is the first time she has ever addressed him as such. "You always were too proud for your own good."

He'd expected disgust, or even anger, but not the half-smile on her lips as if he is a dear old friend. "If I have any pride left, it would appreciate being left alone in its misery," he hints.

Elizabeth refuses to budge. _Bloody stubborn as always._ "Facedown in the mud in Tortuga. I did not think you had it in you," she muses softly, as if to herself.

"No man is perfect, Miss Swann," James replies evenly.

"But once, I thought you were. And I think we can forget the formalities in these... circumstances." Elizabeth glances over her shoulder as somewhere in the distance, shots are fired and there is the roar of a drunken brawl.

"And yet, you still did not love me."

Elizabeth reaches out one hand to wipe the mud off James' mouth. "You are much more intriguing as a flawed man." She leans in and kisses him gently, her fingertips brushing the soft skin on the back of his neck. She tastes of sea salt and the promise of freedom he never knew as a Navy man. James kisses her back, feeling for just an instant that perhaps he hasn't completely destroyed any chance of happiness after all.

When Elizabeth breaks the kiss and he is abruptly overwhelmed by the throbbing of his head and the stench of the pigsty, she says, "Now. Are you coming with me?"

James has no idea where Elizabeth and Sparrow are headed, but one thing, at least, has not changed about their relationship. He would still go to the ends of the earth and beyond for Elizabeth Swann. James accepts her outstretched hand and follows Elizabeth toward the docks wondering if the woman who contributed to his downfall may, in fact, be the angel who can save him.


	2. The Fallen, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a companion piece to "The Fallen." Elizabeth is both intrigued and infuriated by James Norrington after rescuing him from his disgrace in Tortuga.

Elizabeth cannot believe James - proper, doting James - has the nerve to accuse her of being infatuated with Jack Sparrow. She has just risked her future with Will by kissing the fallen Commodore and coaxing him back to the Black Pearl with her. She's still not entirely certain what possessed her in that Tortuga pigsty, but Elizabeth Swann never backs down in the face of a challenge and she's now hell-bent on catching another glimpse of whatever it was that made her believe James is a man she could have loved, if she had looked beyond the powdered wig and starched wool uniform sooner. 

James has been insufferable since the Pearl left port, making her mission nearly impossible. His sharp tongue and bitter words sting, perhaps because Elizabeth has never imagined that James could be capable of expressing anything less than admiration toward her. 

"Why on earth did I allow you to persuade me onto this damn pirate ship?" James mutters under his breath as he scrubs the deck one day with harsh, furious strokes that threaten to strip the wood of its finish along with the salt and grime. Elizabeth is draped over the railing, staring listlessly into the depths of the turquoise sea. She is contemplating diving off the Pearl to escape Jack's advances and James' biting tongue when she hears the former Commodore's comment. 

Elizabeth pivots and faces James, stamping her foot in frustration. "I was only trying to save you from that hellhole. Must I remind you that you were making a bed out of a pigsty?" She snarls through gritted teeth. Her fury attracts the attention of both James and Jack, who looks on with interest from the wheel a few feet away. Surveying the deck, Elizabeth points to the only place where they might be able to have this conversation in privacy - Jack's cabin. "Get in there. Now." 

Her eyes challenge him to defy her, but James digs in his heels like a mule anyway. "I did not realize I was under your authority as well as the bloody pirate's, Miss Swann." He turns his attention back to the task at hand but Elizabeth grabs him by the arm and yanks him to his feet. James has to stifle a grin at the sight of Elizabeth with her too-large tricorn hate tipping over her eyes, her jaw jutting out and a dangerous glint in her eyes. She looks every inch a pirate but even that cannot dampen his awe of her. He's reminded of a small child in a costume with a wooden sword... endearing, but not exactly intimidating. 

Elizabeth maneuvers James into Jack's cabin and slams the door behind them before turning on him, completely unaware that half of the Pearl's crew had been leering at them as they'd disappeared into the cabin. "You. Ungrateful. Bas-"

James smirks and claps a hand over her mouth. "Must I remind you of all the times I've had to come to your rescue, Miss Swann?"

"When have I ever needed to be rescued by you?" She demands as soon as he removes his hand, perhaps anticipating that she's considering biting him. 

"Well. Let's see..." James leans casually against the wall, the corner of his mouth still turned up in that infuriating manner. "There was that time you were marooned on the island with Sparrow. Or have you already forgotten? That was the day you pretended to accept my proposal so I would save your latest fiance. Ah, and your father's dinner party when I went along with your act of being "ill" so you could escape to the beach. And all those balls when I was persuaded to cut in whenever you were dancing with some dull lad who stepped on your toes, hmm?" 

For once Elizabeth is thoroughly chastised and stares uncomfortably at her boots. "That's still not an excuse for you to act so improperly," she whispers feebly. 

"Oh. Improper like a fine woman dressed in men's clothing, unsupervised on a pirate ship with an improper man such as myself?" James chuckles wryly. "Improper like...this?" He takes Elizabeth by the shoulders and moves her so that they've switched positions - she is backed against the wall and he kisses her with reckless abandon. Elizabeth's breath is taken away and she cannot think, cannot move, can only kiss him back and wonder how she'd completely overlooked the intense passion bottled up inside this man all her life. She feels feverish and bereft when James pulls away, taking a step backward as if being so close to her is just too much temptation to handle. 

"I'm sorry," he says contritely, "there is your...fiance to think of." His voice cracks slightly as if merely calling Will her fiance pains him. James clears his throat and shuffles his feet. "I shall not trouble you for the rest of the voyage. 

Elizabeth reaches out and takes hold of James' collar with her slender fingers, pulling him closer. "I am beginning to think that perhaps Will and I were not married for a reason," she says slowly. 

James' heart leaps but he quickly adopts his usual stoic expression lest she is only going to let him down once again. "I suppose this epiphany has to do with the...er...commander of this vessel?" Try as he might, referring to Jack as "captain" still tastes bitter to him. Sailing under the leadership of a pirate has not displaced years of Navy conditioning. 

"No." Elizabeth moistens her lips and meets his bewildered gaze. "Things could never work between Jack and me," she says haughtily. "I have been swayed by a certain fallen commodore." She tugs on his collar, sending his muscular body crashing into hers and claiming his lips again. James flushes like a schoolboy and wraps his arms around her, deepening the kiss. 

James mumbles something against her lips, causing Elizabeth to reluctantly end the kiss. "What?"

"The heart. The heart of Davy Jones." 

"What about it?" Elizabeth asks suspiciously. 

"You're after it so you can save Turner's life. Why are you toying with me, Elizabeth? You'll only go back to him when all is said and done." 

"I will save him - because he is my friend, and it is my fault he is in danger. But after that..." Elizabeth rests her forehead against his and closes her eyes; James is intoxicated by the smell of the sea breeze in her tangled hair and the warmth of her body. "We shall set things right and go somewhere far away from this madness where we can be together."

As James stares at her, the stormy blue-green of his eyes brightens into a lovely brilliant emerald. "Together." 

"Together," Elizabeth agrees. "Away from the East India Trading Company. Away from high society. Away from Cutler Beckett. Away from..."

She is interrupted by an insistent knocking on the door. "'ey! My cabin is not your personal vacation spot!" 

James reaches over and smoothly locks the door. "I thought you were rooting for me, Mr. Sparrow." 

Jack rattles the doorknob helplessly. "That's Captain Sparrow to you, mate!" 

James sighs and rolls his eyes. "Away from bloody Captain Jack Sparrow and his incompetent crew." He snatches Elizabeth's hat off her head to get a better view of her face and smiles down on the woman he's fancied for years. It's perhaps the second genuine smile Elizabeth has ever seen on his face, the first time being when she had so foolishly accepted his proposal. 

"It might be useful to keep him around. You know, to transport us to our new home." 

"My dear, you are thinking more and more like a pirate each day. I'm not sure I approve." James quirks an eyebrow as Elizabeth swats at his arm. 

"James Norrington! So you do have a sense of humor after all." Elizabeth can't help but giggle at the James' indignance. 

"Of course I do. I would be an idiot if I did not see the humor in the fact that I've practically had to turn pirate to capture your attention. Savvy?"


End file.
